Bone grafting is a surgical procedure that replaces missing bone and/or repairs bone fractures. Bone generally has the ability to regenerate well but may require a scaffold to do so. Bone grafts may be allograft (cadaveric bone e.g., from a bone bank), autologous (i.e., bone harvested from the patient's own body, for example from the iliac crest), or synthetic. Most bone grafts are expected to be resorbed and replaced as the natural bone heals over time.
Successful bone grafts may include osteoconduction (guiding the reparative growth of the natural bone), osteoinduction (encouraging undifferentiated cells to become active osteoblasts), and osteogenesis (living bone cells in the graft material contributing to bone remodeling). Bone grafts are osteogenic if they contain viable cells that are capable of bone regeneration, which is advantageous for bone healing. Osteogenesis occurs with autografts. Autografts are considered osteogenic because they contain a high number of bone forming cells. However, autographs have certain drawbacks in that there is limited availability of autographs, and autographs may result in donor site morbidity.